A South Otago farming couple have been praised for their part in preventing a 10-home subdivision at Bull Creek, near Milton.
In an interim decision released this week, the Environment Court refused the resource consent previously granted by the Clutha District Council to Moyvane Sea View Ltd in 2012.
Moyvane Sea View is owned by Peter and Katie O'Connor, of Kingston Crossing, Southland, who wanted to develop their 34.5ha farm into a 10-home subdivision at Bull Creek, a small coastal settlement about 15km east of Milton.
The site is split into a Rural Resource Area and a Coastal Resource Area under the council's district plan.
Thirty submissions were made to the council on the proposal, with 27 opposed, two neutral, and one in support.
The consent was appealed by neighbouring Bull Creek farmers Michael Hurley and Beatrice Lasserre, and a three-day hearing was held in Dunedin in November.
Representing the Bull Creek couple at the hearing, lawyer Chris Thomsen said other crib-owners and residents in the Bull Creek area were not party to the appeal, but Mr Hurley had ''accepted the burden'' to speak for the wider community, at considerable personal cost, because he felt it was important.
The Environment Court decision refused the subdivision, but granted consent to build one home.
The settlement at Bull Creek has 46 cribs and three homes, with most crib owners holding 33-year leases with landowner Gwen Lane.
Moanariri Crib Owners Association spokesman John Taal said the group was very pleased with the outcome.
''It's positive news we feel for the Coastal Resource Area ... it's not just about Bull Creek. We want to protect the Coastal Resource Area for our future generations.''
However, Mr Taal stressed that the outcome was achieved by Mr Hurley and Ms Lasserre, not the crib owners themselves.
''The cribbies can't take the credit for this - it's the result of the hard, hard work of Michael and Beatrice and their legal team. We fully support what they did ... we just did not have the resources. We are just the supporters.''
Efforts to contact Mr Hurley or Ms Lasserre were unsuccessful.
Mr Thomsen said his clients were ''quite content'' with the outcome, that only a single dwelling has been consented.
Mrs O'Connor said the couple was happy to be able to build their ''dream home'' on the site.
